Hogwarts houses’ weirdest rules


The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a truly fantastic place to learn. After all, it was voted the 36th best educational establishment in Scotland (it was the only entrant from the fictional world). But some of the rules the students of magic are expected to stick to just don’t make sense. Here is a look at five such rules.

1. Houses are kept apart during meals

The extent to which the houses at Hogwarts are kept apart in the school defies belief. It is somewhat understandable that they must live apart in their separate dorms, learn apart, and play sports in their unique teams. But when this rule is extended to mealtimes, including banquets, it sounds like an idea stretched too far. It seems the school goes out of their way to make sure that students cannot make friends across houses, as there is no opportunity to interact with others.

Hogwarts houses’ weirdest rules

2. The curfew rule and bathroom access

On the face of it, the curfew rule is a sensible one. Even ordinary schools implement the rule that students must remain in their dorms after lights out, mainly to ensure they stick to a certain level of discipline. In Hogwarts castle, a curfew is even more necessary given the potential dangers lurking about in the dead of night. But when you consider that there isn’t even one mention of a bathroom in the dorms or common rooms (there are plenty of bathrooms elsewhere in the castle, including the hallways), the rule doesn’t make any sense.

3. Pets are allowed

Of the weirdest rules in Hogwarts is that students are allowed to bring pets of their own. These include cats, toads, owls, pygmy puffs… the list is endless. With potentially hundreds of different pets lurking about, it must be total chaos. There seems to be no special measures to ensure cats and mice live peaceably in the dorms, and this is before you consider there are owls and other predatory birds added into the mix, too. While the story of Harry Potter without Hedwig and Crookshanks wouldn’t be as cool, one must wonder what it all means at the practical level to keep all these pets.

Hogwarts houses’ weirdest rules

4. Students can’t blame the castle’s magic for tardiness

Moving about the Hogwarts castle, you are never certain just when you will become victim to one of its rather capricious magical tricks. Staircases move of their own accord, and a step might just suck you in without warning. These pitfalls are never too dangerous, but they do make it hard to get places on time. However, even if it is the castle that prevented you from arriving to class on time, you will still be dinged points for it.

5. No magic allowed in the corridors

Students at Hogwarts are forbidden from doing magic in between classes and in the corridors. Of course, this is one rule which just about everyone breaks on a routine basis. After all, how do you take hundreds of young people, teach them magic, and expect them not to make use of it when they are bored? Even if the rule is meant to discourage bullying, a blanket ban on magic is not the most logical way to go about it. If a student gets hurt, magically or otherwise, the teachers should investigate the intention behind what lead to the outcome.

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